A former staffer of self-styled godman Ashokkumar Eknath Kharat may have been the key to unravelling one of Maharashtra’s most sensational exploitation scandals. Hours later on Sunday, another woman filed an FIR alleging that Kharat repeatedly raped her between 2020 and 2026 on the pretext of performing religious rituals. With Sunday’s two FIRs, a total of three cases have now been registered against Kharat in connection with allegations of sexual exploitation. He then secretly installed a hidden camera inside the office cabin, extracted the footage onto a pen drive and submitted it to the police. He further alleged that Kharat threatened to kill him and his family if the footage was not handed over.

Source: Indian Express March 23, 2026 05:57 UTC